Wireless technology enables people to keep in touch wherever they are by transmitting text, pictures and voice. Often a cellphone is a lifesaver for someone stranded in a car that has broken down, or found themselves in some other emergency in which the cellphone is their only way to communicate their condition to those who can help.

Now at a medical center in Newark, NJ, wireless technology is being used to save lives of patients suffering a heart attack. A new system allows on-call cardiologists to receive ECGs on “smart phones” and be in touch directly with the paramedic on the scene. Before the patient has even arrived at the hospital, the cardiologist has seen the ECG and can instruct the paramedic on life-saving treatment. The ECG can even be sent to the hospital’s cath lab, and patients can be transported directly there, cutting down the door-to-balloon time, the time between arrival at the hospital and the initial inflation of an angioplasty balloon to open a blocked coronary artery.

“We have found a way to receive electrocardiograms from home, from another hospital, from our cars — anywhere we are,” said Vivek N. Dhruva, D.O., academic chief fellow in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-New Jersey Medical School, who presented the paper. “In only 4 months, we went from being in the bottom 10 percent of hospitals in the time to treatment of heart attack to being in the top 10 percent of hospitals.”

The current guideline for door-to-balloon time is 90 minutes. Using the wireless system, the UMDNJ is now averaging 73 minutes.

Transmitting ECGs to Cardiologists by Smart Phone Cuts Treatment Time in Half

If you want to get more than just exercise while you walk, walk in the green. A study done in the UK found that walking out of doors, and experiencing nature was more beneficial to mood that exercise taken in an indoor shopping mall. In fact, people walking in shopping centers reported a lower sense of self-esteem than those walking in outdoor, green areas.

The concept is called eco-therapy. The study found it enhances connections between people and nature and encourages social interaction and companionship. Your senses are more stimulated during a nature walk, the colors, scents and fresh air lift the mood. You escape the stress of modern life and relax and even just the exercise itself gives you a feeling of confidence and a sense of achievement.

Gardening, helping to clean up a park or just taking a nature walk are all outdoor activities that can boost your physical health and your mental health.

Read more about eco-therapy

Millions of Americans take aspirin daily to prevent blood clots, heart attack and stroke. But are they taking too much?

A recent study by researchers at the University of Kentucky suggests that a 325 mg dose of adult aspirin is not more effective than an 81 mg dose of baby aspirin but carries a higher risk for bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract.

A review of the published data found no benefit to higher doses of aspirin and cited the dangers of bleeding as a reason for patients to take the lowest effective dose. According to Dr. Steve Steinhubl, one of the study’s authors, there is almost no one who needs to take more than 81 mg of aspirin a day but cautions patients to check with their doctors to be sure.

UK Study: Baby Aspirin Better for Your Health

Botox, made popular by aging celebrities to make forehead lines disappear has become so commonly used that Botox injections are available nearly everywhere. But Botox may now have a place in the treatment of pain and spascticity of muscles in stroke patients.

The conclusion of a study at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, showed that repeated treatments with Botox (botulinum toxin type A) over the course of one year, reduced pain intensity, pain frequency and decreased spasticity in upper limbs following stroke.

“In the clinical setting, limb stiffness and pain are the most commonly reported symptoms of spasticity following a stroke, and relief of spasticity-related pain is a priority treatment goal for many patients,” said Allison Brashear, M.D., professor and chairman of neurology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and head of the spasticity clinic at Wake Forest Baptist.

Study Shows Repeated Treatment With Botox® Decreases Pain And Intensity Of Spasticity Following A Stroke